Opinion: Sumter Strong + Sumter Cares = Sumter Smart
Gov. Henry McMaster said during his press conference on June 10, 2020, "There's a lot of stupid floating around out there." He was commenting on the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in South Carolina. At the same press conference, the state's epidemiologist, Dr. Linda Bell, said, "Today I am more concerned about COVID-19 in South Carolina than I have ever been before."
My wife, Sarah, and I lived and worked in Hong Kong in 2003 when SARS (another respiratory virus known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) killed more people in Hong Kong than in any other city in the world. The SARS fatality rate was 17% in Hong Kong. It was a scary time.
With so many deaths, the people of Hong Kong began to wear masks in public to protect themselves and to protect others around them. Fortunately, SARS subsided. When COVID-19 raised its ugly head in Hong Kong in January of this year, almost everyone in Hong Kong immediately began wearing face masks in public again and wearing them whenever in public.
It is hard to practice social distancing in Hong Kong where more than 7 million people live in an area that's 2/3 the size of Sumter County, but face masks are worn in public everywhere. Since January to now, there have been only four COVID-19 deaths in Hong Kong even with its extremely high population density with crowded streets day in, day out. Contrast that with South Carolina with its lower population of around 5 million and its rural setting where there have been about 600 deaths so far.
Given our Hong Kong experience, Sarah and I gave 2,000 face masks to the Sumter city and county governments, churches, social organizations and to neighbors and friends. These washable face masks are two-ply cotton with a logo of "Sumter Cares" with a swan and crescent moon. We are also working with a charitable organization that has generously made funds available for an additional 5,000 "Sumter Cares" face masks to be made given to nursing homes, assisted living facilities and the disadvantaged.
We should not close the economy down again and shut down people's livelihoods, but we should be prudent and learn lessons from others who went through the life-and-death battle of SARS. Face masks should not be a political statement; instead, wearing a mask in public should be a statement of respect and care for others, for yourself and for our community. Sumter is strong, and it is a caring community. By combining those two traits together, it will be a smart community.
The math is simple, and the numbers speak for themselves: Four COVID-19 deaths in Hong Kong versus 600 deaths in South Carolina. The formula is Sumter Strong + Sumter Cares = Sumter Smart. Let's get rid of "the stupid floating around out there," and let's each of us Mask Up Sumter for the health of all of us!
Sumter native and resident Archie Parnell is chairman of the Sumter County Bar's COVID-19 Help Committee. He can be reached at SumterBarCOVID19.Help@gmail.com.